Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to push for a tax on wealthy New Yorkers to pay
for improvements needed to address the crisis engulfing New York Citys
subway, city officials said on Sunday.

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The proposal is the latest move in the battle between Mr. de Blasio and
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo over who bears responsibility for repairing the
deteriorating transit system. The plan would also pay for half-price
MetroCards for low-income riders part of a national movement that has
gained momentum in New York.

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Mr. de Blasio will announce a so-called millionaires tax on Monday for
wealthy New York City residents to pay for subway and bus upgrades and for
reduced fares for more riders, an idea that has been successful in
Seattle.

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His funding push comes as the subway faces a multitude of problems, and
leaders at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the
subway, have called on Mr. de Blasio to provide more money for the system.

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Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo, who are Democrats and have long had a
strained relationship, have engaged in an acrimonious public skirmish over
financing for public transit. Mr. Cuomo controls the transportation
authority, but he has called on Mr. de Blasio to help fix the system. Both
leaders have been under pressure to address the crisis, with worsening
subway service hurting Mr. Cuomos approval rating among voters, and with
Mr. de Blasio being targeted by a harsh television ad campaign by the
subway workers union.

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Rather than sending the bill to working families and subway and bus riders
already feeling the pressure of rising fares and bad service, we are
asking the wealthiest in our city to chip in a little extra to help move
our transit system into the 21st century, Mr. de Blasio said in a
statement.

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The tax changes would require approval from state lawmakers in Albany a
difficult hurdle, with Republicans in control of the Senate, though the
urgency of the subways decline has raised the stakes and captured the
attention of both parties.

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On Sunday, the authoritys chairman, Joseph J. Lhota, responded to the
mayors proposal by saying that the agency needed emergency financing
immediately.

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Theres no question we need a long-term funding stream, but emergency train
repairs cant wait on what the State Legislature may or may not do next
year, Mr. Lhota said in a statement.

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Mr. Lhota, who ran unsuccessfully against Mr. de Blasio for mayor in 2013,
also took a jab at Mr. de Blasio, saying he was glad the mayor had
reversed himself after arguing that the authority did not need additional
money. Mr. Lhota recently proposed a roughly $800 million plan for
immediate subway repairs and called on Mr. Cuomo and Mr. de Blasio to
split the costs evenly.